It’s been long since you delivered your last kid? You are probably over with pregnancy and post-pregnancy blues? Read here.
According to the findings of a new study, women who added excessive pounds during pregnancy are highly likely to get them back even after seven years of delivery.
Researchers at the Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health have found unusual association between gestational weight gain and long-term weight gain and body fat.
The study
For the purpose of the study, researchers looked at 302 African-American or Dominican mothers. These mothers were enrolled in the Columbia Centre for Children’s Environmental Health Mothers and Newborns Study in Manhattan and the south Bronx from 1998 to 2013.
Prior to conceiving, 5 percent of these women were underweight; 53 percent were normal weight; 20 percent overweight; and 22 percent were obese.
Results revealed that 64 percent of the study subjects gained more weight during pregnancy than recommended limits. Of these 38 percent went up to become obese 7 years later, according to the study.
“Gestational weight gain greater than the IOM recommendations has long-term implications for weight-related health,” Elizabeth Widen, from the New York Obesity Research said.
“The findings also suggest that normal and modestly overweight women may be more physiologically sensitive to effects of high gestational weight gain and, therefore, need to be further supported to gain weight appropriately during pregnancy,” she added.
The findings of the study are published online in the journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
